MORE CHANGE FOR FINANCIAL ADVISERS

The number of financial advisers has swelled further to 14 firms this quarter and there has been more volatility.

The stability seen last quarter has been replaced by several changes in the number of clients table. UBS Warburg is clear of the pack in the number one position again and, indeed, increased its lead by seven clients to 141.5, which offset the loss of TI after it merged with Smiths Industries. HSBC has risen from sixth to third place, gaining six clients including Collins Stewart Holdings. Schroder Salamon Smith Barney fell two spots to fifth, after losing 5.5 clients, including Legal and General, Williams and Woolwich, who were taken over by Barclays. In at number ten and eleven are Seymour Pierce and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) with 48 and 47.5 clients respectively. What does strike you is how few clients separate the third place, with 69 clients, and fourteenth place, with 46.5 clients. Only two clients separate the last six places.

UBS Warburg has retained its firm lead at the top of the client pre-tax profit league with £15,671m and is far ahead of NM Rothschild at number two, with £6,547m. The big faller was Schroder Salamon Smith Barney, down from second to seventh place, reflecting the drop in profit of £1,646m due to the loss of clients referred to above. The re-named Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein added £1,492m client profit but its ranking was unchanged. New clients included Investec European Growth & Income Trust. CSFB has entered the client pre-tax profit table at number four. This has been aided by the addition of easyjet.

There was also considerable move-ment in the growth tables. The main faller was Investec Henderson Crosthwaite, which fell from number one to six. Close Brothers moved up smartly from ninth to fourth. CSFB and Seymour Pierce entered near the bottom, albeit with negative growth rates. The earnings per share table told a similar story, except the main faller was HSBC down from third to seventh.


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